


Weight Off the Old Block

by S0RRYN0TS0RRY



Category: Dungeons and Daddies (Podcast)
Genre: Angst, Character Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-26
Updated: 2019-10-26
Packaged: 2021-01-03 20:23:47
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21185471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/S0RRYN0TS0RRY/pseuds/S0RRYN0TS0RRY
Summary: Faerûn has changed them all in one way or another, and some more than others, but none have been so touched by their time than Darryl Wilson.





	Weight Off the Old Block

The change in Darryl is gradual and subtle. His shoulders set at a different angle. His eyes darken with a new determination. His confidence is more genuine. Darryl seems to have really found himself in the struggle of their journey. He no longer blindly leads the group and will ask for everyone's ideas and opinions. He usually doesnt let his anger guide his decisions. He is more open about his thoughts and feelings. Daryl's sunglasses rarely block more than the sun these days. Maybe these changes are small and most people wouldn't have noticed, but Henry does.   
  
Henry finds himself watching Darryl and noting how the larger man has grown both softer and stronger during their time in Faerûn. He watches how Darryl interacts with the party as a whole with his overcompensating machoistic veneer. He watches how Darryl clings to Lizardboi Scales McStuffins and their adoration like a man drowning in a sea of hate, fed by the mouth of his wife and the rivers of his own mind. He watches as Darryl seems to retreat more and more into himself the closer they draw to Grant.  
  
Henry sees how Darryl seems to revert to the overbearing control freak that he started as when faced with his son for the first time in weeks. Henry sees how Darryl fights those old habits and takes ideas from the team. Henry sees how Darryl opens himself emotionally to his son and agrees to talk more with him later. Henry sees how hurt Darryl was at Cern's betrayal, but also how Darryl didn't gauge his personal worth upon another person's opinion of him. Henry sees how genuine Darryl is with Cern about his mistakes and trespasses. Henry sees how Darryl throws himself into danger especially if it means protecting his son.   
  
It's a touch odd, but the most expressive part of Darryl is his shoulders. At the start there was an odd tension in them, like they were forced into a confident position. Any moment of vulnerability or emotional weight was betrayed by their steep angle. Whenever Darryl launched into a rage, his shoulders were stiff and high, almost choking his ears. Later in their journey, the odd tension left Darryl's shoulders and his straight shoulders seemed more relaxed and natural. But then as they drew closer to Grant, the air of confidence diminished as his shoulders pulled forward.  
  
Henry is watching Darryl now. Facing off a huge beast of a Chimera, Darryl stubbornly stands, bloodied but his shoulders as confident and straight as ever. He glances back at Grant, worry and pain in his eyes as he knows an echo of what his son is going to experience in a moment, and Henry can only see the slight lowering of Darryl's shoulders as he nods. And just like that, it's done. The Chimera is dead, Grant is changed, the contract is null, and Darryl's shoulders have never seemed so heavy.


End file.
